Cuban Spies Can Face Deportation

MIAMI — Jorge Luis Rodriguez was Cuba's man in Miami in the 1980s and 1990s.

Now, in a federal ruling announced on Friday, the spy who has since disappeared is paving the way for other operatives like him to be deported.

Rodriguez allegedly jotted down the names of anti-Castro exiles on water-soluble paper and carried a billfold with a concealed compartment along with instructions from the Cuban Intelligence Service.

He also had a two-way radio used exclusively to receive orders from his spy bosses in Havana, according to federal prosecutors. Rodriguez, 55, had gained entry into the U.S. in 1983 by marrying an American citizen and becoming a permanent resident.

In April 1996, the FBI discovered his undercover work. Agents nabbed him during a secret meeting with another Cuban operative in Miami.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service tried to deport Rodriguez, but an immigration judge ruled that because Rodriguez was gathering intelligence only on Cuban exiles, "not sensitive defense-related or classified material," he did not pose a threat to national security.

He could stay, the judge ruled.

Now, in what INS said is a significant victory, an appeals panel has reversed the immigration judge, expanding the United States' abilities to deport non-citizens involved in espionage-related activities that do not necessarily threaten the country.

"It's an important case for us because it means we can deport anyone who has had training or had received an assignment to spy here,'' said Kelley Spellman, spokeswoman for the INS in Miami.

The ruling will have little impact on Rodriguez, who disappeared and is suspected to be in Cuba.

Ira Kurzban, the Miami attorney who represented Rodriguez, was out of the country on Friday and unavailable for comment.

But the ruling could have an impact on the cases of 14 Cubans recently indicted in Miami for allegedly spying on exile anti-Castro activists and providing information to Cuba that may have led to the downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, carrying four fliers, in 1996. The ruling could ease the way for the deportation of those arrested.

Rodriguez's undercover work in Miami focused on a Cuban exile paramilitary group, now largely inactive, with the Spanish acronym of PUND, the National Democratic Unity Party. At one time, the group's supporters included Watergate co-conspirator Frank Sturgis, who died of cancer in 1993.

According to the FBI, Rodriguez had a list of names of PUND members in his wallet. In 1994, two PUND members were arrested on the island and one was killed in a gun battle with police after trying to infiltrate the island to carry out sabotage missions.

Luisa Yanez can be reached at lyanez@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5007.